RANDAL J. KIRK
Radford. 51. Found-er, Chairman and CEO of New River Pharmaceuticals and senior managing director of Third Security LLC, a private investment firm. 2004 was an important year for New River; the specialty pharmaceutical company went public. It also picked up a collaborative partner, Shire Pharmaceuticals Group of the U.K., to jointly commercialize a drug for children with attention deficient hyperactivity disorder. With no marketable product yet, the company posted a net loss of $14.3 million for fiscal year ending in January. However, New River has been one of the best performing life-science IPOs since 2003, with its stock rising from an initial price of $8 per share to more than $32 per share at one point. Kirk owns more than 11 million shares of New River, or 64.8 percent of the company. He has many other business holdings and serves as chairman of Biological and Popular Culture LLC and Clinical Data Inc. An alum of Radford University, he sits on its board of visitors and co-chairs Radford’s current capital campaign, which is on target to raise more than $40 million.
Net worth: $400 million
Confidence: A

KIRBY FAMILY
Claremont. The late Fred Morgan Kirby founded the family’s fortune more than 100 years ago when he merged a string of variety stores with F. W. Woolworth. The estate of Ann Kirby Kirby owns 9.2 percent of the stock of Alleghany Corp., a New York-based title insurance company. Roger H.W. Kirby is executive vice president of Guilford Co., a private investment firm in Richmond. He serves as a trustee at his alma mater, Hampden-Sydney College.
Net worth: $350 million*
Confidence: B

McGLOTHLIN FAMILY
Grundy. The McGlothlin family drew its fortune out of the ground when patriarch Woodrow W. McGlothlin, 90, was instrumental in forming The United Co. to mine coal. The Bristol-based operation later branched into oil, natural gas, real estate and financial services. Woodrow sold his interest in the company in 1998 and set up the McGlothlin Foundation, which has assets of $23 million and funds a variety of causes in Southwest Virginia, including the Appalachian School of Law and the University of Appalachia School of Pharmacy. Woodrow still serves as foundation chairman and CEO. One son, Thomas D., serves as president. Two other sons — James W., CEO at The United Co. and now living in Texas, and Michael D., an attorney who lives in Grundy — serve on the board as directors.
Net worth: $350 million*
Confidence: C

PAUL C. SAVILLE
Vienna. 49. CFO, executive vice president of finance and treasurer of NVR, one of country’s largest homebuilders and mortgage bankers. Like other NVR executives, Saville received options to purchase shares at low prices after the company’s brush with bankruptcy a decade ago. Now the executives are cashing in. Company easily has been the best-performing stock in the home building sector during past 12 months, with stock selling at more than $800 a share at one point. Saville exercised options in 2004 that netted proceeds of nearly $38 million. Holds exercisable options worth another $61.8 million. Intensely private, he reportedly paid $35 million recently to purchase oceanfront estate along Billionaire’s Row in Palm Beach, Fla., two doors down from his boss, NVR Chairman and CEO Dwight Schar. Political donations include $2,000 to Bush-Cheney 2004 campaign.
Net worth: $302 million
Confidence: B

W. RUSSELL RAMSEY
Great Falls. 45. Managing general partner of Ramsey Asset Management in McLean. Company holdings include ventures in gaming, recreation, real estate and finance. He is one of three co-founders of Arlington-based Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group Inc. and remains on board of directors. Last year he became vice chairman of the Washington Baseball Club, one of several ownership groups that bid to purchase the Montreal Expos (now the Washington Nationals) from Major League Baseball. Vice chairman of the board of trustees at George Washington University, where he was a standout baseball star and inducted into its Hall of Fame. Through their eponymous charitable foundation, Ramsey and wife Norma have provided about $260,000 in scholarships to at-risk children in the Washington area. Ramsey is a trustee of Big Brothers and Big Sisters. Boys and Girls Clubs, Venture Philanthropy Partners, and Make-A-Wish Foundation are other philanthropic causes.
Net worth: $300 million
Confidence: A

MICHAEL SAYLOR
Vienna. 40. The chairman, CEO and co-founder of MicroStrategy assumed the title of president in December. Saylor keeps a lower profile these days, but his McLean-based provider of business intelligence software is roaring back. Revenues were up 32 percent to $231.2 million in 2004. Saylor earned a $954,775 cash bonus for 2004, which doubled his salary. He also sold $1.3 million in stock. Auditing firm Pricewater-houseCoopers LLP, which stuck with MicroStrategy after the SEC charged the company with overstating profits by tens of millions of dollars in 2000, dropped it as a client in March, though no financial disputes were reported in filings.
Net worth: $300 million
Confidence: C

BETTY KNIGHT SCRIPPS
Charlottesville and Nassau, Bahamas. Heads Charlottesville-based Scripps Enterprises Inc., a private company with holdings in publishing, real estate oil and gas. Much of her fortune stems from the sale of a newspaper chain, Scripps League Newspapers, owned by Scripps and her late husband, Edward W. Scripps. Before its sale in 1996, the chain had 54 publications in 16 states. Scripps chairs the annual Washington National Opera Ball in Washington, D.C. In 2004, she donated $1 million to the opera. She is also active with Scripps Hospital in La Hoya, Calif., helping with its annual fundraising ball.
Net worth: $300 million
Confidence: B

THE WINKLER FAMILY
Alexandria. The Mark Winkler Co. is a major real estate development and management firm in the Washington area. Its portfolio includes interests in more than 11 million square feet of real estate valued at more than $1 billion. Some of its best-known projects include the Mark Center in Alexandria, the Westfields Corporate Center in Chantilly and the TransDulles Centre in Sterling. Mark Winkler started the company in the 1940s. He died in 1970. His daughter, Tori Winkler Thomas, is chairman of the board.
Net worth: $300 million
Confidence: C

ROBERT E. LaROSE
Chantilly. 60. Founder and CEO of Integic Corp., which was sold this year to global defense giant Northrop Grumman Corp. Federal sales account for about 90 percent of firm’s $161 million in revenue. Under LaRose’s guidance, Integic emerged as major information-technology services provider to federal government, especially the U.S. military. One contract calls for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to pay Integic $4.7 million for software and IT services. LaRose helped found the Integic Charitable Foundation, which provides grants to organizations addressing women’s and children’s issues. Serves on board of directors of Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and Women in Orlando, Fla.
Net worth: $263 million
Confidence: B

JOSEPH E. ROBERT JR.
McLean. 54. Chairman and CEO of J.E. Robert Cos., which he started in 1981 with a borrowed typewriter and $50,000 from a second mortgage. Today the privately held company is divided into halves: JER Partners invests in commercial real estate and manages five private equity funds with more than $2 billion, and JER Revenue Services is one of the nation’s leading delinquent tax-servicing firms. Robert is a general partner in the Washington Baseball Club, which acquired the Montreal Expos baseball team and moved it to Washington to become the Nationals. Founder and chairman of Washington-based Fight for Children Inc., a philanthropic organization that raises money for children’s charities. Also a 2005 recipient of the Horatio Alger Award, given to community leaders who have demonstrated initiative and a commitment to excellence.
Net worth: $260 million
Confidence: C

RACHEL “BUNNY” MELLON
Upperville. Widow of Paul Mellon, one of country’s best-known philanthropists and art collectors who gave away $1 billion to various causes in his lifetime. Mrs. Mellon shares her late husband’s passionate support for the arts and continues to live at the couple’s Rokeby farm in Northern Virginia’s hunt country. As usual, Rokeby was included in the 2005 Virginia Hunt Country Stable Tour, an annual Memorial Day weekend fundraiser for Trinity Episcopal Church that allows self-driven tours through some of hunt country’s most prestigious stables and training facilities. While known for his art collecting Paul Mellon — son of industrialist Andrew W. Mellon — was also a horseman whose thoroughbreds won three of the world’s biggest races.
Net worth: $250 million
Confidence: C

SAUER FAMLY
Richmond. The sweet smell of spices still wafts from the building of C. F. Sauer Co., a family-owned business that has thrived for 118 years. Conrad F. Sauer III continues as chairman, and Conrad IV is president. Two other Sauers are vice presidents. Family members own an estimated 95 percent of the private company, which was founded in 1887. Sauer has grown to more than 900 employees and has annual revenue of $246.4 million. Besides a lineup of more than 250 extracts and seasons, the company sells salad dressings and oils through retail and food service subsidiaries, which include Dean Foods, The Spice Hunter, Duke’s Products Co., Gold Medal and Mrs. Filbert’s Mayonnaise. With a fourth generation of Sauers at the helm, company has succeeded in keeping the business in the family.
Net worth: $250 million
Confidence: C

DOUGLAS H. McCORKINDALE
McLean. 65. Chairman, president and CEO of Gannett Co. Inc., which owns newspapers, broadcast outlets and Internet properties around the world. A graduate of Columbia College and Law School, McCorkindale joined Gannett in 1971 as general counsel. He assumed role of CEO in 2000. Has served on Gannett’s board of directors since 1977. Wealth stems from his vast ownership of Gannett stock — more than 2.3 million shares, not counting stock included as part of his deferred compensation. Value of Gannett shares soared 26 percent during the three-year period that ended Dec. 31. Under McCorkindale’s leadership, Gannett’s revenue growth, operating income and cash-flow margins have consistently ranked among the highest in the publishing industry. He is a director or trustee of The Associated Press, Continental Airlines Inc., Lockheed Martin Corp. and numerous mutual funds in the Prudential Group of Newark, N.J. Other stock holdings include 21,000 shares in Continental Airlines and nearly 18,000 shares of Lockheed Martin.
Net worth: $234 million
Confidence: B

GENE B. DIXON JR.
Dillwyn. 62. President and CEO of Kyanite Mining Corp., owned by the Dixon family. The Buckingham County company is world’s largest producer of kyanite and mullite — materials used in heat-resistant products by global customers. It owns and operates six production plants in Virginia, employing 200 people. The Dixon family is the sole owner of the Cavalier Hotel in Virginia Beach, an 18-acre resort with an old hotel, dating back to 1927, and a newer facility on the waterfront. The assessed value of the hotel is $16.4 million.
Net worth: $200 million+
Confidence: C

NIGEL W. MORRIS
Alexandria. 46. The former president and COO at Capital One Financial Corp. (and Richard Fairbank’s close partner for many years), Morris left the company early last year to spend more time with his family. Like Fairbank, Morris took no salary at Capital One but was paid in performance-based options. Morris, a transplanted Englishman, serves as a director at Quanta Capital Holdings Ltd., a specialty insurer located in Bermuda, and The Economist Group. Now that he has more time, he is a trustee on the board of the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation.
Net worth: $200 million
Confidence: B

DANIEL F. AKERSON
McLean. 56. Managing director of the well-connected The Carlyle Group, a Washington-based venture capital firm. Serves as co-head of its U.S. Buyout fund, which raised $7.85 billion along with another $2.2 billion for European buyouts. The $10 billion in private equity is the largest buyout fund ever, according to The Wall Street Journal. Akerson is a telecom veteran who started his career with MCI Communications and later became its president. Previously served as chairman of XO Communications and as CEO at Nextel Communications and General Instruments. The U.S. Naval Academy graduate is a director of the U.S. Naval Academy Foundation and sits on the boards of American Express and United Components, which Carlyle purchased for $800 million in cash in 2003.
Net worth: $190 million
Confidence: C

THE REV. M.G. “PAT” ROBERTSON
Virginia Beach. 75. Founded Christian Broadcasting Network in 1960, which now broadcasts to 200 countries in 35 languages. Operation Blessing International Relief and Development Corp. — one of Robertson’s largest philanthropic efforts — was at the forefront of relief efforts in nations severely hit by this year’s Indian Ocean tsunami. Organization transported $19 million in medicines to Sri Lanka and 500 tons of rice to Indonesia. Robertson continues as president of Virginia Beach-based Regent University, which he founded in 1977. Regent has been granted full accreditation for a four-year undergraduate program. School has 3,500 students. Robertson also recently started company to assist the United Nations and humanitarian organizations in rebuilding war-torn Liberia with water wells and water systems.
Net worth: $190 million
Confidence: A

JOSEPH W. LUTER III
Smithfield. 65. CEO and chairman of Smithfield Foods. Country’s largest hog and pork producer posted revenue of $9.27 billion in 2004. The company’s pork sales benefited from its 2004 acquisition of Farmland Foods, which is based in Kansas City, Mo. Luter earned a performance bonus of $6.6 million, nearly 89 percent of his total compensation, in 2004. Under Luter’s tenure, company has expanded holdings to include operations in Poland, France, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Brazil, China, Romania and Spain. Established Smithfield-Luter Foundation in 2003, which has assets of $4.4 million. It has donated more than $202,000 for scholarships at four U.S. universities, including Virginia Tech and Luter’s alma mater, Wake Forest University.
Net worth: $185 million
Confidence: B

VAN METRE FAMILY
Burke. Albert G. Van Metre Sr., 79, is chairman and CEO of Van Metre Cos., a family-owned real estate firm that develops commercial and residential projects. As Northern Virginia adds jobs, the booming real estate market continues to provide plenty of opportunities for home builders like Van Metre. One of company’s new projects includes a 50 percent interest in the 1,600-acre Broadlands community adjacent to the Dulles Greenway in Loudoun County. The community has 3,300 residential lots and 4 million square feet of commercial space. Company marked its 50th anniversary by auctioning off one of its designer showcase homes in Lansdowne, with some of the proceeds going to the Children’s National Medical Center. Albert’s son, Albert G. Van Metre Jr., serves as one of company’s principals and directors.
Net worth: 180 million
Confidence: A

GOV. MARK R. WARNER
Richmond. 50. In his last year of office as governor, Warner has begun to attract national attention as a potential Democratic presidential candidate in 2008. His rising reputation is based on his success in pushing a $1.4 billion tax reform package through the Republican-controlled General Assembly in 2004. Warner and Senate Finance Committee Chairman John Chichester were named Public Officials of the Year for 2004 by Governing magazine. Warner made his fortune in the cellular telephone business. He placed his assets in a blind trust before assuming office in 2002.
Net worth: 180 million*
Confidence: C

DAVID P. REYNOLDS
Richmond. 90. Chairman emeritus of Reynolds Metals Co., which was acquired by Pittsburgh-based Alcoa Inc. in 2000. Reynolds was last member of his family to head the company. The Virginia Historical Society is building the Reynolds Business History Center, a wing that will house the archives of Reynolds Metals and other Virginia companies. The center also will have an exhibition on the state’s economic history. Plans for center were sparked by a $1 million gift from the Richard S. Reynolds Foundation and a $500,000 grant from Alcoa.
Net worth: $175 million
Confidence: C